After being named 2011 Finals MVP, Player of the Year and also Defensive Player of the Year in the Slovenian League, Zoran Dragic hopes this season brings him a step closer to joining his brother, Goran, in the NBA.

Zoran Dragic leaned on the metal railing surrounding the mixed-media zone at the 2011 EuroBasket in Vilnius, Lithuania and flashed a quick smile when asked about playing alongside his big brother.

It was last September and for the first time in their lives, Zoran and Goran Dragic shared the honor and experience of playing together for the Slovenian National Team in what was described at the time by both brothers as simply, "a dream come true".

Growing up in Slovenia's capital of Ljubljana, Zoran used to follow Goran around to different soccer and basketball games, hoping for the chance to show what he could do.

Now all of these years later, Zoran (who just turned 23-years old) still has aspirations of following in Goran's (25-years old) footsteps to the NBA and dreams of becoming the first Slovenian brothers to play in the league.

After the last two seasons Dragic has had playing in the Slovenian League for Krka Novo Mesto, his time to shine may not be too far behind.

It's roughly 5600 miles from Novo Mesto, Slovenia to Houston, Texas. In one city, Goran Dragic has suddenly positioned himself as a hot commodity on this summer's NBA free agent market by putting up career numbers as a back-up point guard of the Houston Rockets.

Serving in a role he portrayed behind Steve Nash in Phoenix for three seasons, the 6-foot-3 Dragic is averaging 10.9 points, 5 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 20 starts (58 games played) this season behind Kyle Lowry and just might be the most sought after point guard this offseason behind fellow free agents, Nash and Deron Williams.

But in another city halfway around the world, another Dragic is also making some noise.

Last season Zoran Dragic was named 2011 Finals MVP, Player of the Year and also Defensive Player of the Year in the Slovenian League as the 6-foot-5 shooting guard averaged 15 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals a game and helped Krka Nova Mesto win the EuroChallenge Final Four.

In 25 games this season for Krka Novo Mesto, Dragic is averaging 11 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, while shooting 53% from the field in the Adriatic League. During 12 Eurocup games, he averaged 11.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game (57% from the field).

Dragic put up his best numbers during Slovenian League play. In 5 games, he averaged 14.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and shot 64.4% from the field and was named to the All-Star team.

While his overall scoring was down this season, Dragic isn't a stranger to criticism or overcoming the odds.

Some overseas basketball pundits may not prescribe to the belief that he could cut it in the NBA, but Dragic has persevered before. Chances are he will again.

Two years ago, he was the last player to be cut from the Slovenian National Team as they prepared for the FIBA World Championship. All Dragic did after that was battle back to make the roster for the 2011 European Championships, where he averaged 8.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game and shot 66% from the field.

Despite only shooting 1-13 from beyond the arc, he played aggressively in the cutting and slashing style the Dragic brothers have become known for. His trademark defense was also impressive.

Yet unlike Goran who was selected in the second round (45th overall) by the San Antonio Spurs in 2008, Zoran -- who was both on San Antonio and Phoenix's radar last June - went undrafted in the 2011 NBA Draft, leaving his jump to the league up in the air and yet another goal for Dragic to strive for.

How long before Dragic gets his shot?

For Goran, this summer should serve as the chance to finally land a starting spot and a hefty payday as well.

As for Zoran, the dream to follow in his brother's footsteps to the NBA lives on.

Zoran Dragic leaned on the metal railing surrounding the mixed-media zone at the 2011 EuroBasket in Vilnius, Lithuania and flashed a quick smile when asked about playing alongside his big brother.

It was last September and for the first time in their lives, Zoran and Goran Dragic shared the honor and experience of playing together for the Slovenian National Team in what was described at the time by both brothers as simply, "a dream come true".

Growing up in Slovenia's capital of Ljubljana, Zoran used to follow Goran around to different soccer and basketball games, hoping for the chance to show what he could do.

Now all of these years later, Zoran (who just turned 23-years old) still has aspirations of following in Goran's (25-years old) footsteps to the NBA and dreams of becoming the first Slovenian brothers to play in the league.

After the last two seasons Dragic has had playing in the Slovenian League for Krka Novo Mesto, his time to shine may not be too far behind.

It's roughly 5600 miles from Novo Mesto, Slovenia to Houston, Texas. In one city, Goran Dragic has suddenly positioned himself as a hot commodity on this summer's NBA free agent market by putting up career numbers as a back-up point guard of the Houston Rockets.

Serving in a role he portrayed behind Steve Nash in Phoenix for three seasons, the 6-foot-3 Dragic is averaging 10.9 points, 5 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 20 starts (58 games played) this season behind Kyle Lowry and just might be the most sought after point guard this offseason behind fellow free agents, Nash and Deron Williams.

But in another city halfway around the world, another Dragic is also making some noise.

Personaly I don't see Zoran as NBA material, not more then bench bench warmer. He is good defender, decent slasher with good athletic abilitys. But he lacks his brother basketball talent in terms of insticts and creativity. He should develope in god Euroleague role player, but I doubt he will doo more

Idk man..... euro shooting guards have they're work made ou for them. I mean unless they're sweet shooters like Belinelli and Rudy Fernandez (rudy also has hops as well) Its rather hard. I mean ask Vasilis Spanoulis and Juan Carlos Navarro.

i get what you were trying to go with by "asking spanoulis and navarro", but that doesnt really seem to apply JCN. if i remember correctly, when his contract ran out, NBA teams were calling him up in free agency, believing that he has shown enough to be player and contributer in this league. However, spain wanted him back and gave him a contract that was too good to pass up. add that plus him missing his family and home and this is a mid-30's guy, not an early-20 year old, then its safe to say the choose to leave the NBA, not that he couldnt stay in it.

i get what you were trying to go with by "asking spanoulis and navarro", but that doesnt really seem to apply JCN. if i remember correctly, when his contract ran out, NBA teams were calling him up in free agency, believing that he has shown enough to be player and contributer in this league. However, spain wanted him back and gave him a contract that was too good to pass up. add that plus him missing his family and home and this is a mid-30's guy, not an early-20 year old, then its safe to say the choose to leave the NBA, not that he couldnt stay in it.

It does not apply to either one of them. Navarro was offered $33 million contracts from 2 NBA teams, but he had to pay his buyout to Barca so he returned there. The Spurs and Rockets both wanted to keep Spanoulis but he wanted to leave because his mother was sick and on the other side of the world.

What Slovenian league has to do with this? Dragic besides Slovenian legue played Eurocup and Adriatic legue, 2 decent competitions.

Rudy in Europe plays bouth wing position, imo whatever his apstract position is he is shooter, slasher and cutter from his off ball movments. That is his game

Spanoulis is playmeker on what ever position. point guard or shooting guard

1,2,3,4,5 or pg, sg, sf, pf, c is just a title name that is used as term in basketball, nothing more

Dragic is a good player and I am sure he can play in the NBA. The point is that touting awards won in the Slovenian League is an absolute joke. Fernandez was a SF in Joventut, he was a SF in Real Madrid, he is a SF in Spain's national team. So, he is a SF, not a SG in Europe.

Yes, Spanoulis plays play maker. In the NBA this is referred to as "point guard", not shooting guard. Spanoulis can guard both guard spots, so he is a combo guard on defense, but on offense he is a play maker. In the NBA the shooting guard is never used as a play maker.

I was just correcting the statements of the positions as said here by someone. I mean even with Navarro it is a bit misleading to call him a shooting guard. Because even though he is a shooting guard he isn't a pure one. He runs the offense and runs pick and roll all the time and he also acts as a play maker and primary ball handler a lot too.

He's more like a shooting guard on defense and a combo guard on offense, than a pure shooting guard. So actually, none of the players mentioned are even true shooting guards.

So it realy makes no sense to compare Zoran Dragic to any of those players. I would compare Zoran to someone like Pocius. Less athletic than Pocius, but better on offense. Fairly similar players though.

He won Slovenian legue agaist EL team, not great but it's still EL team...and still your point is? That writer should not metnion he won Slovenian league?

Rudy shoots of ball, Rudy slashes (we call it here "uvijanje", don't know english term) of ball and cutts off ball. It's his main game. apstract titles like pint guard, shoothing guard, small forward is for wikipedia. And rudy played all this "positions" in europe

Spanoulis played "PG" and "SG", but he is playmeker in definition of that word as his main game is to create for himself or others

Navarro does it bouth regulary

Pocius is much more coplete ofensive player then Zoran and their game is not simillar besides some abilitys

Fernandez is a small forward. One of the reasons he sucks so much in the NBA is because he is played at the wrong position there.

Uh no, Pocius is not better than Dragic on offense. Pocius is almost a negative on offense and has very little offensive game at all. They are very similar. same size, athletic, defenders with out much offense.

If you think Pocius is good on offense then you clearly have him confused with another player. You must have him confused with someone like Gecevicius or Siebutis.

The point is Goran Dragic is barely more than an average player in Europe, yet looks like a star in the NBA, so I am sure his brother can play in the NBA easily.